About Us

The Des Moines, Iowa, chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild is one of MANY guilds across the country and world with a united Mission: to support and encourage the growth and development of modern quilting through art, education, and community.

We encourage anyone who is interested to join us.  For our next meeting time and location, click on the Calendar tab above... or simply email us at dsmmqg@gmail.com.

What is modern quilting?

During the first decade of the 21st Century, quilters began applying current tastes and points of view to this traditional craft and sharing their work online; on blogs, on flickr, on social media sites...  These fresh approaches and new designs attracted sewers and quilters and the modern quilting movement was born.  In October 2009, the Modern Quilt Guild began in Los Angeles, CA.

Modern quilting, like all art, changes, grows and adapts from quilter to quilter (and year to year) as they find their own voice. Modern quilts reflect each quilter’s personality and personal style, and as the movement has grown, a modern quilt aesthetic, a set of principles that define and guide the movement, is beginning to emerge.

 Modern quilts and quilters:

     * Make primarily functional rather than decorative quilts

    * Use asymmetry in quilt design

    * Rely less on repetition and on the interaction of quilt block motifs

    * Contain reinterpreted traditional blocks

    * Embrace simplicity and minimalism

    * Utilize alternative block structures or lack of visible block structure

    * Incorporate increased use of negative space

    * Are inspired by modern art and architecture

    * Frequently use improvisational piecing

    * Contain bold colors, on trend color combinations and graphic prints

    * Often use gray and white as neutrals

    * Reflect an increased use of solid fabrics

    * Focus on finishing quilts on home sewing machines

Modern quilting has its roots in rebellion, in our desire to do something different, but simultaneously its feet are firmly planted in the field of tradition.  Modern quilting is our response to what has come before.  We are quilters first, modern quilters second.

Modern quilters have embraced the new options available in textiles: bold colors, graphic prints, larger scale prints, and Japanese fabrics.  Much like the Amish quilting tradition, many modern quilters are also exploring quilt designs made exclusively with solid fabrics or with just a hint of print.

The Internet has played an integral role in the development of modern quilting.  Through blogs, online tutorials and social media the modern quilting community interacts, providing inspiration and friendship for each other.  This has helped the community grow at an astounding pace, providing feedback and support at a moment’s notice.

In many ways, modern quilting has taken us back to the basics of the early quilters, when women of the day used the colors and styles of their time to express themselves creatively while finding friendship and community along the way.  Welcome to modern quilting!

exerpted from www.themodernquiltguild.com.